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Strategies for Retaining Talent

Date Published:

November 8th, 2017

Companies are made of people, and without them, it is very difficult to be successful. The more great people you can keep, the greater your company can become. The problem is turnover, and according to the recruitment firm Robert Half, employee turnover has continued to increase over the last three years. Even companies that invest time, energy, and finances into keeping their workforces happy aren’t able to keep them around. What is going on?

The increasing turnover means that the retention strategies most companies use aren’t really effective. But what do employees want? What do they value the most? There are companies providing places to take naps, rooms dedicated to games, and chances to win vacations. If they can’t keep their talent, where is the hope for everyone else?

We’re glad you asked!

Reasons Why Talented Employees Leave

The Robert Half survey asked employees why they would choose to move on to another company. Here is what the employees said:

Boredom

Frustration with role

Bad work-life balance

Little career opportunities

The first two (boredom and frustration) were the main reasons that plagued companies of all sizes. However, they showed up particularly strongly in large companies.

The Impacts of High Turnover Rates

When your workforce is constantly refreshing itself, it isn’t really a good thing. Sure, you don’t want to get stagnant, but there is such a thing as too much new, especially in businesses that have to invest a lot in each new employee to get him or her up to speed. Here is a list of the struggles high turnover rate causes for companies:

A high number of new joiners – New hires don’t come cheap. Recruitment, training, and development take a significant toll. The average employee takes about eight months to reach full productivity, so if he or she leaves after a year, you get about four months of actual work before you have to train his or her replacement.

Loss of culture – Culture is incredibly important to any company’s success, and it all comes down to the people. You need people who understand and embrace your culture to stick around and keep it alive. If they keep leaving, your culture has no time to develop and will end up faded and tired.

Loss of knowledge – It doesn’t matter how well you train new employees; there are things they learn on the job. These little tweaks for efficiency or excellence are very precious, and they often leave with the employee. Passed-on knowledge is never complete, and while some loss of knowledge is inevitable even in the best conditions, it can add up quickly if you have high turnover rates.

What Can Be Done?

As you can imagine, a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t going to do much for you in this modern world. If you want to count yourself among the high-performing organizations today, you need to understand that a culture that promotes growth and mobility is the best way to engage and keep your employees. Here are three targets to keep in mind:

Facilitate career progression

The very best organizations put learning at the center of the experience they create for their employees. They provide chances for their employees to develop on an individual level, keeping their fingers on the pulse of what their employees need so they can offer just that. They understand what their employees will need to progress and work to provide the right technology and tools to make development easy. The ultimate goal is to empower your employees to grow without compromising their performance in their current roles.

Personalize the experience

The modern employee isn’t driven by promotions and perks. Instead, these employees are activated by career growth opportunities and varied skills development. They want their work to be meaningful, and they want to be able to progress in their personal vision. Remember, when an employee can progress within your company, that employee can contribute more and make your company stronger. That is why it is so important to offer flexible paths forward as well as resources and tools for development. When you do this, you’re fostering the success of your own company.

Foster growth culture

Growth should be in the air your employees breathe. You can achieve this by making employee satisfaction one of your business objectives. Link the development of your employees to your business results. Reward learning and foster agility in talent. The growth should never stop, so focus on continuous growth by supporting your employees as they develop new skills. Encourage them to move laterally and vertically around the company. Your employees should not be afraid to change things up or make mistakes as they learn. They should feel like they have opportunities, support, and understanding.

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